Independence puts Scottish and British defences at great risk, warns Philip Hammond

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Parachutists from 16 Air Assault Brigade exit a Hercules C130 over RAF West Freugh, near StranraerTimes photographer James Glossop

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Defence Secretary Philip HammondSteve Parsons/PA

Lyndsay McIntosh

Published at 12:01AM, March 15 2013

The defence capabilities of Scotland and the rest of Britain would be severely
jeopardised by Scottish independence, Philip Hammond has warned. The Defence
Secretary said that if Scots vote to go it alone next year the new state and
the remainder of the UK would be less able to protect themselves from enemy
attacks.

In his first major intervention in the separation debate, Mr Hammond ridiculed
Alex Salmond’s plan for a Scottish Defence Force, which involves slicing off
a share of the UK’s military personnel and hardware. He said that such a
split undermined the cross-Border co-operation and misunderstood the